Orange Kenya amends "misleading" ad, condemns media coverage

HumanIPO reported earlier this month the ASC ruled in favour of a Safaricom complaint against an advert run by Orange, with the advertising standards body deeming Orange's "Do You Know" campaign misleading as in comparing prices by different operators it failed to mention Safaricom offered KSh2 tariffs during off-peak hours.

"The ad was disparaging because it suggested that Safaricom was the more expensive network. The claim is misleading and should be withdrawn from the mediums it is run on or edited in the manner stated thereafter," read part of the ruling.

Edit rather than withdraw

Orange Kenya said it had chosen to take the course of editing the advert rather than withdrawing it, and criticised media reports which claimed it had failed to abide by the ruling.

"It is worth noting that Orange, initiated negotiations in good faith with Scanad Kenya Limited, and thereafter duly amended the advertisement to include an asterisk with the words, 'peak rates apply'," the company said.

"With this also being one of the recommendations by the ASC, in its ruling, we have already adhered to the standards set by the code on comparative advertising and most importantly adhered to the ruling given by the committee; that provided for two options: "that the advertisement be withdrawn from the mediums it is run on OR edited in a manner stated by the Committee." As a business, we chose the latter recommendation."

Article published courtesy of HumanIPO.